Broadband update: Comcast offers 105 Mbps, Frontier invests

Comcast today announced a new tier of service, the “Extreme 105 Mbps,” which is now available in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Denver and other large markets. The top speed was previously 50 Mbps, which became available in late 2008.

If ordered with a “triple play” bundle, the service is available with 12-month introductory rate of $105 per month. After the intro rate expires, the service will cost $129.95 per month.

At that speed, you can download a 4 gigabyte high-def movie in five minutes, a standard-def TV show in 20 seconds and an album in three seconds, according to Comcast’s release.

Frontier pledged to spend $40 million upgrading and expanding broadband in Washington after it took over Verizon’s phone business in the region last year. A spokeswoman said the remaining $35 million or so will be spent extending broadband to rural areas by the end of 2013.

Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest. Send tips or comments to bdudley@seattletimes.com. His column runs Monday, and his commentary appears here all week.